Yesterday it came to light that Cloud Imperium Games took out a second Star Citizen loan in the UK, from the bank Coutts. What caused quite a bit of stir among those that have been following the development of both Star Ctizen and Squadron 42, was that terms of the loan made it sound like defaulting on a single payment would result in all IP ownership reverting to the bank.

In response to the news CIG took the time to explain the situation, and that the loan simply falls in line with a tax credit rebate that it gets.

Our UK companies are entitled to a Government Game tax credit rebate which we earn every month on the Squadron 42 development. These rebates are payable by the UK Government in the fall of the next following year when we file our tax returns.  Foundry 42 and its parent company Cloud Imperium Games UK Ltd. have elected to partner with Coutts, a highly regarded, very selective, and specialized UK banking institution, to obtain a regular advance against this rebate, which will allow us to avoid converting unnecessarily other currencies into GBP.  We obviously incur a significant part of our expenditures in GBP while our collections are mostly in USD and EUR.  Given today’s low interest rates versus the ongoing and uncertain currency fluctuations, this is simply a smart money management move, which we implemented upon recommendation of our financial advisors.

And that the collateral only refers to the UK-developed portion of the game -- Squadron 42.

Which, is fair enough. The troubling aspect that many saw as red flags coming from this revelation is that with over $150 million in crowdfunding being poured into Star Citizen, the last thing they'd want to see would be ownership shifting to a bank. Also, with development on the ambitious project now entering its sixth year, after first getting announced in 2012 the modular approach to its design and release so far has left many wondering when the final game will be made available.

And to answer the question posited by the headline -- no, probably not. But hey, we're still waiting patiently for any Star Citizen related release date news.